The Long-Winded Lady: Notes from The New Yorker

by Maeve Brennan

From 1954 to 1981, Maeve Brennan contributed to The New Yorker's "Talk of the Town" department under the pen name "the long-winded lady." Her unforgettable sketches - prose snapshots of life in the streets, diners, and cheap hotels just off Times Square - are a timeless, bittersweet tribute to what she calls the "most ambitious, most comical . . . the saddest and coldest and most human of cities."

Genres: Nonfiction, Essays, New York, Short Stories, Memoir, Irish Literature, History

268 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1969

About the author

Maeve Brennan (January 6, 1917-1993) was an Irish short story writer and journalist. She moved to the United States in 1934 when her father was appointed to the Irish Legation in Washington. She was an important figure in both Irish diaspora writing and in Irish writing itself. Collections of her articles, short stories, and a novella have been published.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

maeve brennan was a lesser known writer for the New Yorker, who eventually cracked up and began living in her old office, even though she was no longer writing for the magazine. becuase the editors were such nice people, they let her live there, even take "baths" in the restroom sinks. (ah, the good old days when job security meant something.) before this sad turn, she wrote some of the loveliest observations of other people i have ever read. read this book during your commute, and you will find yourself enchanted by the most commonplace encounters for the rest of the day.

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I discovered Maeve Brennan through Spinster: Making a Life of One's Own earlier this year. Kate Bolick's devoted admiration for Brennan moved me, and I wanted a clearer picture as I knew I would at least like her from what I had already read about her life. But now that I have read her work, the reasons for Bolick's devotion are clear to me, and I join her in admiration for such a compelling author.

The Long-Winded Lady is a collection of observations considering the people and landscapes of NYC. Reading Brennan I got the sense of a roaming observer, as she never talks of friends or her life outside of these observations, though I never lost the sense of her consciousness. Each vignette is veiled by her past in a delicate way I find hard to describe because of this. Brennan moved to New York from Ireland when she was seventeen, and never seemed to stay in one apartment very long (she even refers to them as hotels, a word that evokes impermanence). But she was not a ghost, as her words seem to suggest. Maeve Brennan was quite known and admired in (and outside of) New York in the 50's and 60's for her writing and personal style. This contrasts with what I imagined while reading this collection, but unfortunately my initial impression of her presence is accurate today for she has mostly been forgotten.

If you enjoy the subtle magic of everyday encounters and perhaps love people watching yourself, I urge you to read The Long-Winded Lady. I hope you'll the find wonder in it that I did.

[Viktória Larišová · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bežiaci komentár Maeve Brennan ku každodennému životu mesta z pohľadu vykoreneného kaviarňového čuda. Knižku som zhltla výlučne medzi spánkovými pauzami na ceste Čadca - Praha, rozumej je to jednoduché, fascinujúce, a aj napriek miernej repetitívnosti pútavé (ale ak chcete byť skutočne hardcore alebo obsedantne trváte na úplnom ponorení sa do textu, zoberte si k tomu mapu Manhattanu). Keďže som už o Maeve Brennan a jej živote niečo čítala, mala som však počas celého čítania tak trochu clivé nálady, a automaticky som všetko čítala s podtitulkom "šialenstvo vo veľkom meste". Ale, koniec koncov, možno práve preto ma to tak chytilo. A tiež preto, že takisto rada šmírujem ľudí na verejných priestranstvách ;)

[Graham P · Rating 4 out of 5]

How can one not have a literary crush on Maeve Brennan? She is the ultimate interloper, a stylish seemingly-demure writer with an acidic wit and an evocative sense of the melancholic. Every entry in this compilation of her New Yorker writings is quite lonesome...it is her perspective within the Manhattan labyrinth, a perspective both scientific and strangely sympathetic -- the man waiting for his date who isn't going to show up, the broken women at the bar looking at her reflection in the mirror, the two nuns walking into a restaurant and checking the menu before taking a seat. It is all in observation, and amidst the destruction of the old city while the skyscrapers tower high, we see what she sees with precision and pomp. Maeve always appears alone at a window seat, sipping a martini or a cup of coffee, watching tourists, vagabonds, socialites and sinners with the examining eye of an outsider who never leaves the city. And the wit, the wit she carried like a secret dagger:

'As he was fitting her chair in under her, the man said, evidently continuing their conversation, “All right, if you must have a definition, I am a socialist who is interested in lust.” I was fascinated, but he sat down and his voice dropped with him, and I heard nothing more from him until their lunch had been served, and then he said, in a loud voice, as though he were astonished, “The potatoes are very good here.” Another disappointing man, I thought…’

By the end, the glory days of Manhattan island come to an end. One of her last 'notes' has her sitting in a drably brown Bickfords sipping scalding coffee amidst a befallen midtown. Tragedy has never been so subtle...she makes that cup of coffee speak volumes of disappointment and emptiness. Sadly, Maeve Brennan's career disappeared with a sad whimper. She wrote so well about being lost in a city that doesn't really care who you are, and what you've been. How wonderfully sad it is to be alone.

[Zuzana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kiež by niečo podobné napísal niekto aj o Bratislave! (nemyslím Borisa Filana)

Len také pozorovania sediac v kaviarni o bratislavských dôchodkyniach, ako si prišli dať čaj a porozprávať sa o vnúčatách, o skupinke vystajlovaných dievčat objednávaúcich si capuccino a fotiac sa s ním na Instagram, o bande mladých tridsiatnikov-hipsterov práve rozoberajúcich svoj najnovší biznis plán na novú kaviareň s tou najkvalitnejšou talianskou kávou, alebo o našom bookclube, ktorý si zase raz pokecal o "knihe".

Len také pozorovania zo zastávky MHD sledujúc ako sa rýchlo mení tvár mesta na Nivách, alebo ako slečna s dvoma taškami nákupu čaká na svoj trolejbus, alebo ako sa mladý párik bozkáva a ľúbi a vystavuje svoju lásku na obdiv, a nikoho z čakajúcich vlastne nezaujímajú, ako si chlapci púšťajú hudbu z mobilu a očividne tým iritujú starú pani.

Len tak by niekto mohol zaznamenať aj atmosféru nášho mesta - tu a teraz. NIe sú to síce 60. roky, ale raz budú rovnako magické. Lebo aj naše mesto má svoju atmosféru a dušu a strašne čaká na svoju Maeve Brennan.

[Allan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a collection gifted to me by a Goodreads friend due to my interest in all things related to NYC, and one that I'd never heard of before. Indeed, despite her long standing column in the New Yorker, I'd never heard of the Irish columnist either.

Gathering many of the columnist's New Yorker pieces together in a period mainly encompassing the 960s, the anthology paints a picture of New York in transition, where particularly in midtown Manhattan, many of the sights familiar and much loved to Brennan are being replaced by office space. Brennan is a great watcher of people - unapologetically so - and she also paints many pictures of individuals and groups she comes across in specific situations which allow the reader to get an excellent idea of everyday life in the city at the time in question.

Many people refer to Joseph Mitchell's Up in the Old Hotel as being the best work at capturing a feel for what New York of the mid 20th century was like. While its form may have differed slightly from this book, ironically I'd suggest that it was the book that was 'long winded', and to get a more succinct idea of life in the city at the time, this is the title to go for.

Like any anthology, some pieces are better than others, but all in all a very enjoyable read.

[Zuzulivres · Rating 3 out of 5]

V podstate ku knihe nemam velke vyhrady, akurat jednu, ze po 50tich stranach som nadobudla pocit, ze citam stale to iste dookola a ku koncu som sa uz nemohla sustredit. Zopar storiek sa mi velmi pacilo, no atmosfera knihy ma nepohltila do takej miery ako ostatnych citatelov.

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Viem pochopiť, že zápisky Rozvláčnej dámy sa ľuďom páčia. Sú to príjemné pozorovania každodenného New Yorku (najmä) v 50. a 60. rokoch. No pre človeka, ktorý nikdy v New Yorku nebol, sú X-tá avenue alebo Y-tá ulica nič nehovoriace. Ťazko si predstaviť atmosféru ulice, v ktorej štvrti sa vlastne nachádza. Pre človeka, ktorý New York pozná, môže byť čítanie tejto zbierky zážitkom. Pre nás ostatných sú tieto informácie zbytočné, ťažkopádne a vôbec mi nepomohli preniesť sa do NY minulého storočia. Samozrejme, jedná sa o novinové články pre New Yorčanov a autorka pravedopodobne ani nesnívala o tom, že si ich v roku 2019 bude čítať niekto na Slovensku. No napriek tomu sa mi zdalo, že príbehy sú monotónne, opisy zdĺhavé a vyčerpávajúce. Je síce pravdou, že taká je aj každodennosť, ale moje očakávania boli trochu iné.

[Ynna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basically if you put into words people watching in New York City. Some of the essays (?) were boring and seemed pretty pointless, but several had great gems about the magical place that is New York. This book made me want to visit and miss the city and I always consider that a success.

[Elisa Goudriaan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dit boek heb ik met veel moeite uitgelezen. Hoewel ik haar boek 'De twaalfjarige bruiloft' zeer mooi vond, konden deze columns uit The New Yorker me totaal niet boeien. Mijn gedachten dwaalden zelfs steeds af naar andere dingen tijdens het lezen, wat voor mij betekent dat het boek me dus niet te pakken heeft. Want die vele gedachten heb ik altijd en ik lees juist boeken om die gedachten een beetje te 'stillen' en me even in andere werelden te begeven.

De columns in 'De breedsprakige dame' zijn beschrijvingen van allerlei mensen die Brennan ontmoette of eigenlijk alleen zag in restaurants, bars, de metro, in parken, buitenshuis in elk geval. Terwijl haar boek 'De twaalfjarige bruiloft' zich juist intiem binnenshuis afspeelt. Brennan beschrijft wat voor kleren iedereen aan heeft die ze op straat ziet en wat zij denkt dat ze doen of denken en ondertussen komen er onnoemelijk veel straten langs die qua namen allemaal op elkaar lijken en waarbij ik geen voorstelling heb: Fifth Avenue, Forty-ninth street, Sixth Avenue en zo gaat het door. Voor New Yorkers uit de jaren '60 en waren dit vast herkenbare verhalen, maar mij konden ze niet bekoren.

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

#ReadIreland18

Tired of Brennan’s over explanationher ‘tell instead of show’ writing.
She uses her walks through NYC as a foundation
for many of her vignettes.
How many times is too much?
Words just blur on the page = Avenue 175 x and Street 386 x.
These impressions of NYC life are unimaginative.
I read 25 of 55 stories....then I pulled the plug on Maeve Brennan.
#DNF

[Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Long-Winded Lady was the pen name, ironic in the old New Yorker style, of Maeve Brennan, who wrote these pieces for The Talk of the Town when the pieces there were unsigned. She lived in hotels, mostly around Times Square and the Village, from the 1950s to the 1980s, and her sketches were observations of people and incidents around Manhattan in the days when JFK Airport was Idlewild, Fifth Avenue had recently gone one-way, and shops and restaurants around Sixth Avenue in midtown were being demolished to make way for the skyscrapers of the Rockefeller Center Extension. In one anecdote she comes upon a filming in progress on the Upper East Side: Laurence Harvey and Elizabeth Taylor in Butterfield Eight.

[Dylan Kakoulli · Rating 2 out of 5]

As with any diary -or anecdotal chronicling, you’re always going to have fluctuations in consistency, and levels of genuine intrigue.

And, though Brennan does share some astute -and occasionally witty rejoinders, this wasn’t exactly coherent across the board.

Suffice it so say, this book definitely lives up to the title at least!

2.5 stars

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Smart, but gets a bit, uh, long-winded at times. Likely best enjoyed reading one essay a week, as originally published in The New Yorker, but I was too impatient to pace myself.

[Marina · Rating 3 out of 5]

<>. ▪️ Soy de las que disfruta paseando por la ciudad, me estimula mirar los escaparates de las tiendas y cuanto más raras sean, mejor. Disfruto descubriendo cafeterías con buen café y al contrario de lo que puede parecer usual, cuando estoy sola adoro que estén llenas de gente hablando para captar alguna que otra conversación. Paso mucho tiempo en el transporte público y aunque a menudo siento nostalgia de la tranquilidad de la naturaleza, me he acostumbrado al bullicio y ahora me concentro mejor cuando leo rodeada de gente. Tal vez no me gusta admitirlo demasiado pero sí es cierto que soy "de ciudad" (aún sin vivir en plena Barcelona) con todo lo bueno y lo malo que ello conlleva. Así que, por todo lo que cuento, las crónicas de Maeve Brennan me han hecho sentirme bastante identificada con su modo de observar la vida y con sus largos paseos repletos de sensaciones, personas, ruidos y escenarios diversos. Me apetecía leer pequeños fragmentos de ciudad, postales rescatadas de los tiempos periodísticos de la autora que además, no había leído antes, aunque sí lo había hecho sobre su vida. Como dato curioso, he de decir que sentí mucha atracción hacia ella y en mi cabeza sabía que no era casual, que ella me recordaba a alguien. Cuando leí el prólogo de esta edición, descubrí a quién: a Holy Goligthly, la protagonista de Desayuno con diamantes. Al parecer, dicen que Truman Capote se basó en Brennan -que era su amiga- para crear el personaje, pero quitándole su don para la escritura y su brillante cerebro. Este dato me entusiasmó, pues Holy es un personaje por el que siento un amor especial y que me atrajera de igual forma la autora desconociendo que son prácticamente la misma persona, me divirtió. Por lo demás, decir que en el libro hay crónicas más especiales que otras, pero pienso que también puede ser eso un reflejo de la ciudad de Nueva York, que no siempre es tan sorprendente como nos han contado sino más bien lúgubre y solitaria. Yo por mi parte he decidido esperar a escribir esta reseña al más puro estilo Brennan: sentada en una cafetería. Porque si algún lugar es idóneo para dejar volar la imaginación en una ciudad es ese que ofrece humeantes tazas de fabuloso líquido amargo que despierta a cualquier transeúnte solo con su olor. Y aunque ella es más de Martinis, bueno, yo he decidido dejar eso para el fin de semana. 🌹

[Denisa Ballová · Rating 2 out of 5]

Táto knihe nie je srdcovka, hoci New York je v každom ročnom období. Veľa zbytočných detailov, čísiel ulíc a avenue, opisov ľudí v kaviarňach a reštauráciách. Chýba mi ľahkosť, ktorá sa objavila len zriedka, asi v troch textoch, ktoré som si podčiarkla.

"A New York je potrebné spoznať. New York nie je priateľský. Je veľmi veľký a nemá srdce. Nie je očarujúci. Nie je sympatický. Je uponáhľaný, hlučný a neupravený, je tvrdým, ambicióznym, nerozhodným miestom, ktoré nebýva živé a už vôbec nie radostné. Keď sa trblieta, je veľmi-veľmi jasný, a keď nie, je špinavý. New York nič nespraví pre tých, ktorí sa ho rozhodnú milovať. Vrazí nám do srdca túžbu za domovom, ktorá nás sužuje, až kým ho neopustíme, a vtedy si uvedomíme príčinu svojho nepokoja. New York nám nechýba preto, že by bol niekedy lepší alebo horší, ale preto, že nás drží a my netušíme prečo."

[Gijs Zandbergen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Als er een aantal foto's van het New York van de jaren zestig aan het boek was toegevoegd, zou het beter te verteren zijn geweest, want "breedsprakig" is geen overdreven adjectief. Wat mij betreft is Maeve Brennan zelfs een beetje te breedsprakig. Ze ziet, benoemt en veronderstelt heel veel, waar een rake formulering had volstaan Dat geldt ook een beetje voor het nawoord, waarin sommige stukken onnodig worden naverteld en waarin pas tegen het einde staat dat het slecht met Maeve Brennan is afgelopen. De beroemde, verzorgd uitziende vrouw, die veel uit eten ging, werd dakloos, alcoholist en overleed in 1993 in een psychiatrische inrichting. Maar doordat ik hoogstens drie hoofdstukken per dag las, bleef ik mild gestemd, want alles bij elkaar biedt het een mooi sfeerbeeld van een stadscentrum waarin woonhuizen en winkeltjes worden vervangen door wolkenkrabbers.

[Sue Bridehead (A Pseudonym) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maeve Brennan's descriptions of midtown Manhattan are so lovely, lyrical, and mysterious--presented as if she were a constant observer, a ghost haunting the same 10 or so blocks of territory, according to some forgotten logic of habit. It was a transportive (transporting?) experience reading her intimate descriptions of eateries and residence hotels that no longer exist. Her New Yorker essays, collected like this, made me feel nostalgic for an era that predates me, and was disappearing around the time I was born--not just the feel of a simpler New York City, but also a time when writers could support themselves writing slice-of-life observations like this. Reading this book made me want to start writing similar micro-essays about the city in which I live. Who knows, maybe I will.

[Ivana Hrenáková · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pekná knižka. Žiadny veľký dej, len súbor pozorovaní, opisov a malých epizódiek zo života najväčšieho mesta v USA očami írskej prisťahovalkyne. Pokojne plynúce, melanchóliu vzbudzujúce čítanie, z ktorého načerpáte atmosféru starého New Yorku z čias, kedy dámy chodili v klobúkoch a rukavičkách a páni nosili kvety v klopách.

[Jaqueline Franco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me ha costado trabajo terminar la tercera parte de relatos por lo superficial que era NY y sigue siendo supongo. Los últimos episodios los he terminado tan amenamente, con Maeve recordando su natal Irlanda. Lamento que esta mujer no haya escrito más ( he leído toda su obra) , por que es una autora que simplemente me encanta. Volvere a Dublín contigo Brennan.

[Oto · Rating 4 out of 5]

New York, reštiky a príhody z ulíc napísané v 50. a 60. rokoch. Super :)

[Rebecca Russavage · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this style would get dull after a while, but I thoroughly enjoyed this all the way through.

[Trees · Rating 3 out of 5]

Een mooi inkijkje in New York, makkelijk geschreven. Echt ter ontspanning

[Rob Atkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great documentary pieces recording life in New York chiefly from the late 1950s through 1970 by a highly original and clever writer for the New Yorker’s “Talk of the Town” section. Occasionally rather matter-of-fact if always colorfully presented, but at its best (and often) offering rare insight and/or an ironic twist ending to her quotidian stories. A great read for those like myself who love vivid depictions of New York’s past a la Joseph Mitchell, or the urban experience as it is and was lived. Full disclosure: my aunt Sheila Fisher (née Atkinson) wrote for ‘Talk of the Town’ herself for several years c.1960 and doubtless knew Maeve Brennan and worked with her, so I was especially predisposed to like this...but even so it is certainly a worthy addition to any ‘NewYorkiana’ library.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Absolutely brilliant collection of Maeve Brennan “Talk of the Town” essays from The New Yorker magazine. This is essential reading for New Yorkers, and highly recommended for non-New Yorkers eager for a glimpse of the city’s essence. The cumulative effect of reading these mid-century pieces is one of wonder; Brennan somehow captured her New York, date-stamped and fascinating, but also whatever is unchanging at its core. The highlight of is the longer-form “A Snowy Night on West 49th Street,” but everything in this collection, no matter how slight, is essential. Five unequivocal stars. “At night, when the big Broadway lights go on, when the lights begin to run around high in the sky and up and down the sides of buildings, when rivers of light start flowing along the edges of roofs, and wreaths and diadems begin sparkling from dark corners, and the windows of empty downtown offices begin streaming with watery reflections of brilliance, at that time, when Broadway lights up to make a nighttime empire out of the tumbledown, makeshift daytime world, a powdery pink glow rises up and spreads over the whole area, a cloudy pink, an emanation, like a tent made of air and color.”

[Aisling Coase · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this, and the very excellent Helen Levitt photo on the front cover was the cherry on top. The writing style reminded me of Eve Babitz except that Brennan writes not about herself but about people and buildings (the latter seem to all be in various stages of demolition) she passes on the street, glimpsed moments between strangers, window tables in local restaurants which she sits at to people watch, and books she ‘looks at’ rather than reads, so that she can better eavesdrop on the world around her. Capturing the romance, melancholy, silliness and joy of the everyday, this is a collection of articles originally written for the New Yorker from the 1960s onwards, and a love letter to Brennan’s adopted city..

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Maeve Brennan's writing. Her observations are dead-on, sometimes witty, sometimes poignant. I added quite a few words to my vocabulary during the course of these essays. She uses some big words, but without being pretentious. It was fascinating to get a glimpse of NYC through the eyes of a sharp observer who was writing so many years ago. Edifying and enjoyable.

[Маnu Kościuszko · Rating 1 out of 5]

Neviem ci je problem vo mne, v preklade alebo v tom, ze som nikdy NY nenavstivila. Moj boj s touto knihou po sto a nieco stranach vzdavam. Mam pocit, ze sa neviem proste naladit na rovnaku vlnu s autorkou. Aj ked uz boli momenty, ze som mala pocit, ze sa zacinam do toho dostavat, po par vetach to zas vyprchalo. Mozno som ju len zacala citat v nevhodny cas, neviem...

[Thalia · Rating 4 out of 5]

My birth on the Lower East Side of Manhattan was the perfect backdrop for a first read through of Maeve Brennan’s elegiac essays about the ongoing changes of an ever-shifting city. So far, I have spent several hours awake, and have yet to witness any change greater than a cab ride up Fifth Avenue. Ho hum.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

In my more reflective moments, living in New York City feels like my own version of Maeve Brennan's life. 'Observant' doesn't even cover it: Maeve looks at the world with unending nuance, humor, and love. This will be a text I return to throughout my life.